Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella was in a bartering mood Monday.

Here was his proposed deal: if reporters refrained from inquiring daily about injuries, he would provide a nice little list for us on what was happening in the team's infirmary.

So how could we resist? We couldn't.

The worst news was on centre Jordan Schroeder, who refractured his left ankle Oct. 19 in Pittsburgh and will require surgery. A pin will be inserted to stabilize the bone, Schroeder has appeared in just three games. He originally hurt the ankle in a pre-season contest Sept. 21 in Edmonton. He also had off-season shoulder surgery. If bad things come in threes, Schroeder has reached his quota.

“He's out for two months,” said Torts prior to the Canucks-Washington Capitals date at Rogers Arena. “That's the update on him. We don't have to talk about him for two months.”

Jannik Hansen? He injured something on the right side of his upper body last Tuesday against the New York Islanders when he crashed awkwardly into the boards.

“Hansen is, probably, I don't know, 3-4 weeks in that area,” the coach said. “Dale Weise (lower body) is probably 3-4 weeks and David Booth (lower body) is more in the shorter area, a week to two weeks.”

All this grim news means the Canucks will continue with a bottom six that includes call-ups Jeremy Welsh, Darren Archibald and converted defenceman Yannick Weber. Even Tortorella couldn't put a happy face on these developments.

“Of course, it's a challenge,” he noted. “I mean, you're losing some of the guys who made your team and are in your 20. But you have to fill it. All teams go through it. It just gives guys opportunities and we get to find out about our depth. You can't do anything about injuries. You just have to find a way to get it done.”